More than 6,000 telephone numbers linked to suspected fraudulent activities have been identified by scam verification and reporting platform TrustGH.
In a statement issued on Monday, August 31, the platform said the numbers were flagged through community reports and open-source intelligence investigations conducted by its team of certified cybersecurity professionals.
According to TrustGH, about 50 per cent of reported scam numbers are linked to TikTok, making the social media platform the largest single source of reported scam activity in its database.
SMS and WhatsApp also account for a significant proportion of reported cases, while other scam indicators have been traced to Facebook, Google Business Profiles, telephone calls and fake websites.
Social engineering scams
TrustGH said most of the reported scams rely on social engineering, with fraudsters impersonating bank officials, government representatives, company executives, police officers, recruitment officers and legitimate business owners to gain the confidence of potential victims.
More than 90 per cent of reported cases involved attempts to obtain Mobile Money payments or gain unauthorised access to victims’ Mobile Money accounts.
“TrustGH considers the high proportion of Mobile Money-related incidents a significant cybersecurity concern given the widespread use of mobile financial services in Ghana,” the statement said.
The platform also identified fake online shops, fraudulent recruitment schemes, lottery promotions, fake business profiles and phishing attempts among the methods used by scammers.
TikTok-to-WhatsApp scam trend
TrustGH warned that fraudsters are increasingly moving their conversations across multiple platforms.
According to the platform, scammers often use TikTok to attract potential victims before moving the conversation to WhatsApp, SMS or telephone calls to complete the fraudulent transaction.
TrustGH said it is collaborating with the Cybersecurity Authority and the Cyber Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service to support investigations into reported cases.
The platform has urged members of the public to exercise caution when dealing with unsolicited messages, online offers and requests for Mobile Money payments or account information.
Members of the public can also verify and report suspicious telephone numbers through TrustGH.
